Initiate Me (2 page)

Even my brothers were angry with me, all three of them, including Miccah. I was so pissed off. Milan was only a year younger than us, and Marco and Miccah were asking her why she didn't get hers done! What the hell? I was pretty sure both Marco and Miccah had a secret crush on Milan. She’d always had guys flocking around her, especially in high school. Jada and Milan could pass for twins, but their personalities were entirely different. Jada was shy and polite but Milan was far from
shy
; she was bold and forthright. Max was extremely impressed with Jada's piercing. Her stomach was so flat it was almost concave.
Bitch
.

“So, why have I never seen you up here in the Barossa before?" I asked in an attempt to cover my nervousness.

Zane sat on the edge of the porch, crossed his arms over his chest and laughed at my questioning. “That's easy; Max has never invited me until now. But we've become pretty good friends the last couple of years while we were studying in Adelaide.”

“Mmm...so what did you study? Business Management, like Max?”

He chuckled, which was oh-so-divine. “Nah. Bachelor of Social Science - Criminology. It’s a two-year online course, through the Swinburne University of Technology. I work through it at my own pace and use the Adelaide library to study, which is where I initially met Max. I’m actually a cop. Max and I organised a charity footy match and we've hit it off ever since. He's a top bloke.”

“Good, old-fashioned male bonding, how cute,” I said, hoping to shake his calm disposition. He was a cop? Max never mentioned
that
tidbit of information about his bestie.

Zane looked over at the football sitting on the porch floor where Marco and Miccah had left it. He bent and picked it up. “Do you like to play, Mia?"

Oh, my God, every time he said my name I melted. The way my name rolled of his lips was so tantalising and sinful. “I’ve played a few quarters of footy with my brothers over the years, sure.”

“How do you feel about playing a game with me?”

Shit.
Does he realise how old I am? Or should I say how young I am? He must think I’m eighteen already, or older.
Damn it, his double-entendre was most definitely not lost on my raging attraction toward him.
God, if any of my brothers come back out here and see me with him, they will see straight through me and realise I’m attracted to him. Big time.
“Oh, play footy, you mean?” He smirked. “Sorry, your timing is off. I was about to leave and go inside to help my mother prepare lunch. Well, just before you smacked me in the head with the football.”

He moved off the porch rail and unexpectedly cupped my chin. Inspecting my face, he turned my head from left to right. I was too stunned to move. He was so close I could smell him; a mix of masculine sweat and a hint of his cologne. Zane was apparently satisfied with his perusal of my face, and he smiled. “You’re too beautiful to be bruised. You look like an angel.”

“Thanks,” I said.
Bolt
. I had to bolt the hell out of there; that was what I needed to do. I had to get away from the man. I was going to make a fool of myself at any minute. I’d had not one iota of experience with men, whatsoever, and Zane Mitchell was lethal and way out of my league. I’d only ever even been on one date, and that was a complete disaster. He was only after one thing and I was sure not ready to give that
one thing
up yet! I liked simple guys...well...I’d thought I liked simple guys, until Zane. I tried to get around him and avoid his eye contact. “It was great to finally have met you, Zane,” I threw over my shoulder as I walked toward the house.

“Sure, angel. Maybe one of these days you’ll let me play with you.” His words caught me, and I froze. It took all my strength to get my feet moving again. I didn’t realise it but I had actually missed a breath. It wasn’t until I reached the safety and comfort of the kitchen that I noticed my hands were shaking.

He called me
angel
. I’d only ever been called squirt, sis or brat by the male members of my family. My parents called me
cara
and
bella,
but to be told I was beautiful when there were two other gorgeous-looking women present and to be called a
ngel
...Wow, just wow! I chastised myself, trying to remember that he was just one of Max’s friends who most probably saw me as his clumsy
little sister
and was only being polite.

But his words kept playing over and over in my head. Maybe, just
maybe
when I got older, I could be Zane Mitchell’s
angel
.

***

ZANE

I
t wasn’t even lunchtime and I had a boner bigger than Ben Hur. A hard-on for my best mate’s little sister, who looked way too young for me. At twenty-five, I felt old when I looked at her; she had to be only sixteen or seventeen, if that. I knew Max had a younger sister, but fuck, I sure as hell wasn’t expecting her to look like that.

I stared after her as she sauntered off into the kitchen. Mia was hot and most definitely out-of-bounds. That sweet, sexy exotic Italian beauty was giving me a hard-on like never before.

Fuck, if Max catches me lusting after his sister, he’ll probably deck me.
She was something else and that belly ring she was trying to cover up by constantly tugging on her top –
holy fuck
! She was a voluptuous package of pure Heaven – an
angel
. I couldn’t forget how she looked in those damn tight, skimpy denim cut-offs she wore, showcasing her athletic body and peach-shaped arse. Fuck, her arse was hot; I caught a glimpse of her butt cheeks poking out of the denim as she walked off. I needed a cold shower.
Lusting after someone so young; geez, I should be locked up.

“Hey, Zane,” Max called out to me. “I’ve called out to you three times, mate. You want a beer, buddy?”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry, I was distracted there for a minute.”

I was most definitely distracted. Mia Brunetti would be a permanent distraction.

Present Day...

ZANE

F
uck, I hated parties.

It meant I had to mingle¸ be polite and make conversations I didn’t want to engage in. It pissed me off. I was not the best company that night, or any other night for that matter.

I needed another stiff drink and I needed to get laid.

I watched as the caterers and wait-staff circulated through the reception area for Max and Jada’s wedding celebration. Trays were loaded with some of the best vintages in the Barossa. It was their night, and even though I was being a pessimistic prick, after what that couple had been through, they deserved to share their happiness with everyone. Jada was one good-looking woman and Max was a hell of a lucky bastard to snag her. Trying to avoid the crowd, I remained by the bar all night, drinking.

Everyone had cleared their schedules to be there, including me. Funny, I cleared it so well, I quit my job. After years on the force as a private investigator, I finally resigned. Max had been pestering me for years to work for him and Marco. As a silent partner, I’d be in charge of security for all the Brunetti Hotel and Spa Resorts across the country.

My thoughts were interrupted by the cute redheaded waitress with the perfect, tight arse she was deliberately swaying at me in her uniform. “Anything I can get you, sir?”

“Yeah, I’ll have another Johnny Walker Blue with a dash of coke, thanks.” Fuck, I was going to get hammered. It was my fourth scotch in a row, and I was feeling more relaxed. As best man, I had a speech to deliver, and there was no way I could do it if I was sober.

I downed my glass of scotch without even tasting it and ordered another from the young waitress before she could walk away. I never drank to excess. Getting drunk had never been my style and given that I was going into the wine business, a fondness for excessive alcohol would be more than a health issue; it could prove to be bad for business, too.

Right then, however, I didn’t give a shit about business or about remaining sober. Great fucking private investigator I was. I had no idea my girlfriend of two years was doing the dirty on me with one of my colleagues - my fucking partner on the force, of all people.
Fuck, I’m an absolute jackass
. I consumed the glass of scotch just as fast as the previous one, and I was reaching for another when I realised Max’s mum, Rosa, was walking toward me.

“Zane, there you are!” She smiled. “We are just about to open the dance floor so our cousin Luigi who only arrived from Italy a couple of days ago, can play the ‘Italian Tarantella’ on his piano accordion. Isn’t that wonderful?” she beamed, clasping her hands together with excitement. “Do you remember how to do it, Zane, because it is a tradition that the best man dances with the maid of honour.”

Fuck no! No way in hell was I going to dance the Tarantella with Mia!

No. Fucking. Way.

Mia was stunningly beautiful. She had sexy, pouty lips, high cheekbones; sultry, dark-brown eyes, and her raven hair was thick and glossy. Her tanned skin always looked smooth and silky, and the red dress she wore complimented her complexion. It was glued to her, and it sculpted every delicious curve and sumptuous crevice of her curvaceous shape. Mia had the body of a goddess. I liked my women with some meat on them, and Mia ticked all the right boxes in that department.

She was exotic.

She was a temptation.

A temptation I had tried to ignore for years. With a sexual appetite such as mine, I did not need an enticement like Mia, which was the reason I had not pursued her in the past. And also the fact that Mia was my best friend Max’s little sister. Fuck, Max would kill me if I ever went anywhere near her.

How can I ignore her voluptuous, sexy body if I have to dance with her?

“Look at them; aren’t they great together? Jada is just perfect for Max. I never thought I’d see Max settle down, and with someone I love like my own daughter, no less,” Rosa gushed. “Now that you are back and living in the Barossa, you need to find yourself a wife!” Rosa suggested.

“Ah...No, it’s fine, Rosa; I’m going to be too busy setting up the new security business. I won’t have any time for women.”
Shit, just because her son’s married, she thinks she can marry me off now? I need another drink!

Rosa watched me as I gulped down my fifth glass, or was it my sixth? My alcohol tolerance was pretty high, but I never drank that high a volume of alcohol that fast.
God, how many more hours of this do I have to endure?
Well, a lot more, because I was being summoned by Marco to give my speech. Thank fuck I had a few drinks. The scotch sure helped create a heat in my stomach and calm my nerves, as I took hold of the microphone with sweaty palms.

“When Max asked me to be his best man, he told me he expected me to make a traditional speech. No problem, I thought. But he forgot to mention the other one hundred and fifty people who’d be present; otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed to do it.” Everyone laughed. Taking another swig of my scotch, I kept the ball rolling. The laughter continued as I regaled the guests with stories of Max and our youth. There were even a few teary eyes when I described how perfect Max and Jada were for each other.

With the speeches over, it was time to dance that fucking Tarantella.

Mia walked up to where I stood in the middle of the dance floor and pressed her body against mine, whispering in my ear, “Ready, stud?”

I froze.

What the fuck? Did she just call me ‘stud’?

Although she came across as a bit cheeky and playful, I’d never seen or heard her act so brazen and confident. Maybe she was drunk?

When I danced the Tarantella years ago, I couldn’t ever remember it being an erotic dance, but that was exactly how Mia was dancing it. She impertinently waited until the dance floor filled up with more of a crowd of people so we were more inconspicuous. Then she took every opportunity to rub herself against me, touch me and gyrate her sexy-as-hell arse directly on my bulging hard-on. And there I was assuming she was innocent and
shy.

“Jesus, Mia, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I pushed her away from me, but she wouldn’t budge.

“Just having some fun, Zane,” she teased as she rubbed her hands up and down my arms and then brought them around to rest on my chest. “You are always so serious; it must be the cop in you. You need to learn to relax a bit every now and then. You’re such a nerd sometimes.”

I laughed and moved her hands off my chest, holding her wrists in a tight vice. “Sweet thing, if you think I’m a nerd then you have no idea who I really am. I am far from being a
nerd,
and you wouldn’t want to get involved with a man like me. I have certain needs you wouldn’t even begin to know how to fulfil, little girl.” I whispered the words in her ear, and felt the tremor run through her body.
Not so brazen now, is she?

“Then show me.”

Sweet Jesus, she was making me harder and hornier by the minute. I had to get out of there and find myself a one-night stand.
Yeah, that’s it. I need someone I can fuck for just one night, with no attachments and who doesn’t want anything in return
.

I hadn’t had a one-night stand in over two years. My motto was not to waste my time on a meaningless relationship ever again. But Mia was different.

I was going to make up for lost time.

With Mia Brunetti.

***

MIA

G
od, I loved parties!

I was so happy the day had finally arrived. My best friend was marrying my brother and I was so happy for them both.

It was the perfect wedding.

Jada looked so beautiful and gracious in her Vera Wang wedding dress. The dress was exquisite; a floating Chantilly-lace gown with bias organza and a tulle wave flange detail. The sleek waistline, with its frothy, princess-worthy tulle layers, and its fashion-forward flange made every girl in the room envious. A perfect dress for a perfect wedding.

It soon became even more perfect, because there I was standing so close to Zane, I could breathe his masculine scent and familiar cologne. It was a dream come true to finally be close to him, and I moved even closer. Too close. He was backing away from me. Damn, I didn't want him to back away from me. Not when every last cell in my body wanted to erase the distance between us and for me to finally be in his arms.